The Breakfast Club, A Must-See Classic, Is On Netflix Right Now ·

04 Jun 2024, 00:00

Netflix currently ranks as the top streaming service in the world, with more than 230 million subscribers.

How Netflix Started

While it was passed around for some time that Netflix was started in a college dorm room, that wasn’t the case. The services founders had some experience in the tech space, at least before giving it the proverbial college try. In 1997, Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph teamed up to found Netflix, which began as a DVD-rental service that sent DVDs through the mail to subscribers.

They had considerable funding to start after Hastings’ previous company, Pure Atria, was acquired for $700 million. The idea was born while Hastings and Randolph were sharing rides to and from work around this time.

Netflix is big news in streaming now, but that’s not how they started. Back then Netflix was breaking news by being at the forefront of the DVD market, which was just emerging at the time. Though it would be a few years before those were able to overtake VHS tapes as part of the rental market, Netflix was well-positioned for the shift.

In its early years, Netflix also began to undo some of the common trends in the industry. Namely, they ditched the cost-per-rental model and instead went strictly to a subscription service, again being at the forefront of how the movie market would emerge in the coming years.

Who Owns Netflix Now?

If you’re wondering who owns Netflix now, that’s not a question that can be answered by one specific person. To begin with, Reed Hastings had a 70% share in the initial company because his investment, at the time, was the largest. He was the decision maker in not selling to Amazon early on, which turned out to be more than a little positive in the long run.

However, in 2002 Netflix became a publicly traded company. To begin with, the stock went for $15 dollars per share.

So to determine who owns Netflix now, you’d have to ask who owns the most Netflix stock right now. For starters, Reed Hastings currently owns about 1% of all Netflix stock.

Hastings’ overall net worth is estimated to be around $2.6 billion dollars. A number that has to make him more than a little happy he didn’t take the $14 million offer from Amazon all those years ago.

According to the latest filings on this sort of thing, the largest owner of Netflix’s stock is The Vanguard Group which owns 32.5 million shares of Netflix.

That position is valued at right around $5.7 billion dollars. Behind them is BlackRock Fund Advisors with about 18.8 million shares and Capital Research & Management is right behind them with about the same amount. Those two own about $3.3 billion dollars each.

An initial $1,000 investment in Netflix back in 2002 would now be worth in the range of $14,000 today.

How Popular Is Netflix?

The average streamer has 4.7 current subscriptions, with Netflix subscriptions reportedly in 62% of households (according to Statista) who are using streaming services. Following them was Amazon Prime Video, which has a built-in advantage for this number seeing as how this service is tied to their Amazon Prime subscription.

Who owns the streaming market isn’t a clear answer with Netflix anymore. Their grip is shrinking even though they are still a total giant.

Over the years, Netflix has put out some of the best series television and streaming has to offer. Some of the series like Stranger Things and Squid Game have become massive performers for the platform.

And the hits are still coming for the streamer with Netflix continuing to push the content envelope.